The role of Fe species in the pyrolysis of Fe phthalocyanine and phenolic resin for preparation of carbon-based cathode catalysts

Pyrolysis of a mixture of Fe phthalocyanine and phenolic resin (FePc/PhRs) was studied to clarify the details of the preparation protocol of nitrogen-doped carbon-based materials for cathode catalysts in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. TEM images show that nanoshell carbon is formed by the pyrolysis of FePc/PhRs in the temperature range of 600-800 °C. The optimum pyrolysis temperature for the FePc/PhRs mixture was 600 °C, where moderate conductivity and high nitrogen content of the prepared carbon were both satisfied. This catalyst showed a promising fuel cell performance with 1.01 V open-circuit voltage and 0.33 W cm^-2 maximum output, at 0.2 MPa absolute pressure and 80 °C. A detailed study of the carbonization process suggests that the presence of Fe species during carbonization process contributes to higher nitrogen content and growth of nanoshell structure of the resulting carbon.